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Halliburton announced today the successful completion of three wells in the Deep Water Gulf of Mexico utilizing Halliburton’s Enhanced Single-Trip Multizone (ESTMZ™) FracPac™ System.

ESTMZ™ downhole tool system enables the operator to stimulate and gravel pack multiple production zones in a single trip. Designed for use in Dee Water and Ultra-Deep Water offshore completions, the ESTMZ™ system allows the highest treating rate with the greatest volume of proppant in the industry.

Halliburton developed the multi-zone completion technology in collaboration with Chevron U.S.A. Inc. The two companies conducted numerous system integration tests and two field trials to prove the technology.

The time savings realized for each of the three Chevron-operated wells completed with the ESTMZ™ system averaged 18 days, equating to approximately $22 million.

“ESTMZ™ system allows more reservoir to be stimulated in a shorter amount of time, thus increasing efficiency, reliability and production, which is key to the success of the Lower Tertiary,” said Ron Shuman, Senior Vice President of Halliburton’s Southern and Gulf of Mexico regions.

“In addition, this system allows us to deliver a very aggressive stimulation with rates up to 45 barrels per minute and volumes greater than 400,000 pounds of 16/30 high strength proppant. We deliver this with weighted frac fluid and 10,000 horsepower per interval for up to five intervals, providing a total cumulative proppant volume of greater than two million pounds per well with one service tool. Having to make multiple runs in and out of the wellbore equates to a large expense for operators. The ‘single trip’ element of this system provides significant time savings with improved reliability and better asset optimization,” Shuman concluded.

Providing wellbore assurance through various critical operations such as wellbore cleanout, completion services, pumping and fluids also contributed to the success of these three wells. This integrated approach in planning and execution mitigated risks while promoting efficiency and providing an optimal conduit for the reservoir to flow.

The proven reliability of Halliburton’s ESTMZ™ tool system and the continual evolution of these smart technologies are critical to the changing landscape in the Gulf of Mexico. To date, Halliburton has successfully deployed nearly 20 ESTMZ™ systems around the globe including the Asia Pacific region.

Robert Drummond, president of Schlumberger North America, (left) talks about his company as Jeremy Aumaugher, south division operations manager, listens to questions about expansion of their business to support clients in the Eagle Ford Shale.

Schlumberger, the world’s largest oil-field services company, threw open the doors Wednesday to its new operations plant in southern Bexar County, where it was drawn by proximity to the Eagle Ford Shale.

“This is a big deal for us,” Robert Drummond, president of Schlumberger North America, said as he stood before shiny trucks in a spic-and-span warehouse that’s part of a $19 million investment.

The new facility is a critical addition to Schlumberger’s south division operations, which encompasses the New Mexico, West Texas and South Texas, he said.

Construction of the company facilities, which occupy three sites on Fischer Road near the intersection of Interstate 35 South and Loop 410, began in December 2010, company officials said.

Schlumberger — which is based in Houston, Paris and The Hague, Netherlands — employs almost 400 in the San Antonio area, a total that is likely to grow to 500 employees in the coming months, officials said.

San Antonio’s nearness to the shale has meant that the company hasn’t had a problem recruiting employees, whose work ethic “is excellent,” Drummond said.

Salaries at the operations center range from $25,000 to $85,000 a year, said Jeremy Aumaugher, south division operations manager for pressure pumping. Employees also are eligible for performance bonuses, he said.

However, some employees may work 60 hours a week or more and be away from home for periods of time, Aumaugher said.

The company’s biggest labor needs are for truck drivers, while mechanics and electronic technicians make up another key category, he said.

“We’re in competition, obviously, with others who do the same work as us,” Drummond said. “We want to be the employer of choice in North America, meaning not only (in) compensation but work conditions, facilities and safety environment.”

Schlumberger’s center will handle its customers’ demands for pressure pumping, which is used to enhance the flow of oil and natural gas in hydraulic fracturing. It also will provide cementing services, a process used to surround a well’s casing, or pipe.

Schlumberger’s operations occupy 60 acres. One facility occupies a 35-acre site that includes bays for maintaining, fueling and washing trucks. There’s a 15-acre bulk plant capable of storing 20 million pounds of sand for use in hydraulic fracturing, a cement blending area, a 39,028-square-foot warehouse, a laboratory and a support and training facility on 10 acres.

At a ceremony Wednesday at Schlumberger, Economic Development Foundation Chairman Henry Cisneros said: “This is a great, global company doing important work. The more you can succeed here, it is ‘mission accomplished’ for us.”

The company provides a combination of software and consulting services for multiphase flow and reservoir engineering applications. Closing is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

“The dynamic modeling and reservoir optimization software of SPT Group will complement the existing Schlumberger production software portfolio,” said Tony Bowman, President, Schlumberger Information Solutions (SIS). “In combination with the Petrel* E&P software platform and other SIS technologies, this will enable customers to further optimize production from reservoir performance to processing facilities.”

“This is a great testament to our employees and a remarkable opportunity for the company,” commented Tom Even Mortensen, Chief Executive Officer of SPT Group. He continued, “Combining the skills, abilities, presence and technologies of the two companies will further increase the scale of our activities and enable continued delivery of products and services with the quality and pace the market demands.”

SPT Group Chairman and Altor Partner Reynir Indahl added, “We are proud to have developed a very successful company together with SPT Group management, and believe that Schlumberger will be a great home for SPT and its employees.”

SPT Group, founded in 1971, is headquartered in Norway and employs approximately 280 people in 11 countries worldwide. The company is a leader in dynamic modeling of multiphase flow and reservoir optimization through renowned software products and a global team of professional consultants. SPT Group has invested more than most comparable firms in developing cutting-edge technology. The company’s employees, global presence, close ties to industry research environments, and clear focus on customer needs have been important factors in its success.

The vessel will be operating on the Clipper South field in the Southern North Sea. The Island Captain is with this joining Island Commander and Island Patriot as the 3rd well stimulation vessel from IO, with a 4th vessel going into operation in January 2013.

“We are very happy to have made this deal with Halliburton and feel confident that the vessel will perform to the charterers’ expectations,” reads Island Offshore’s statement.

The Island Offshore Group is currently operating a fleet of 17 vessels ranging from Platform Supply vessels, Anchor Handling Vessels, Subsea Construction Vessels to Light Well Intervention Vessels. The group has several vessels under construction.

(Reuters) – Collapsing natural gas prices have yielded an unexpected boon for North Dakota‘s shale oil bonanza, easing a shortage of fracking crews that had tempered the biggest U.S. oil boom in a generation.

Energy companies in the Bakken shale patch have boosted activity recently thanks to an exceptionally mild winter and an influx of oil workers trained in the specialized tasks required to prepare wells for production, principally the controversial technique of hydraulic fracturing.

State data released this month showed energy companies in January fracked more wells than they drilled for the first time in five months, suggesting oil output could grow even faster than last year’s 35 percent surge as a year-long shortage of workers and equipment finally begins to subside.

As output accelerates, North Dakota should overtake Alaska as the second-largest U.S. producer within months, extending an unexpected oil rush that has already upended the global crude market, clipped U.S. oil imports, and made the state’s economy the fastest-growing in the union.

Six new crews trained in “well completion” — fracking and other work that follows drilling — have moved into North Dakota in the past two months alone, according to the state regulator and industry sources. Back in December, the state was 10 crews short of the number needed to keep up with newly drilled wells.

“Three to four months ago, the operators were begging for fracking crews,” said Monte Besler, who consults companies on fracking jobs in North Dakota’s Bakken shale prospect. Now “companies are calling, asking if we have a well to frack.”

For the last three years, smaller oil companies with thin pockets were forced to wait for two to three months before they could book fracking crews and get oil out of their wells. As more and more wells were drilled, that backlog has grown.

Last year, an average 12 percent of all oil wells were idled in North Dakota. Even so, output in January hit 546,000 barrels per day, doubling in the last two years and pushing the state ahead of California as the country’s third-largest producer.

FEWER WELLS IDLE

Fracking, which unlocks trapped oil by injecting tight shale seams with a slurry of water, sand and chemicals, has drawn fierce protests in some parts of the country, but it has not generated heated opposition in North Dakota.

The number of idle wells waiting to be completed in the state reached a record 908 last June, the result of a new drilling rush and heavy spring floods. Only 733 wells were idle in August as crews caught up, but the figure crept steadily higher until the start of this year.

Now, the industry may be turning a corner in North Dakota, the fastest-growing oil frontier in the world.

“Both rig count and hydraulic fracturing crews are limiting factors. Should they continue to rise together, production will not only increase, it will accelerate,” said Lynn Helms, director of the state Industrial Commission’s Oil and Gas Division.

The tame winter likely played an important role in helping reduce the number of idle wells — those that have been drilled but not yet fracked and prepped for production. That number fell by 11 in January, as oil operations that would normally be slowed by blizzards were able to carry on, experts said.

Residents of the northern Midwest state — accustomed to temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (-40 Celsius) in winter and snow piles as high as 107 inches — this year enjoyed the fourth warmest since 1894, according to the National Weather Service.

The milder conditions also helped prevent the usual exodus of warm-weather workers that occurs when blizzards set in.

“Not everyone wants to work in North Dakota in the winter,” Besler said.

The backlog of unfinished wells has also begun to subside because the pace with which new wells are drilled has leveled off. The state hasn’t added new rigs since November.

The latest state data shows oil companies brought 37 new rigs to North Dakota’s in 2011 but have not added more since November. The rig count held steady at 200 in January 2012, although more than 200 new wells were drilled in that period.

SLUMPING NATGAS PRICE PROVIDES RELIEF

North Dakota has gotten a boost from the fall-off in natural gas drilling due to the collapse in prices to 10-year lows. Energy companies such as Chesapeake and Encana have shut existing natural gas wells and cut back on new ones. Last week, the number of rigs drilling for gas in the United States sank to the lowest level in 10 years as major producers slimmed down their gas business, according to data from Houston-based oil services firm Baker Hughes. [ID:nL2E8EG9OY] The fewer gas wells drilled, the less need for skilled fracking crews in the country’s shale gas outposts.

Fracking in oil patches is similar to the process used in gas wells, except for the inherent power of the pumps employed. Crews inject high-pressure water, sand and chemicals to free hydrocarbons trapped in shale rock. So big service firms such as Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Schlumberger are reshuffling crews from shale gas fields to oil prospects in the badlands. “We have moved or are moving about eight crews. Some of those crews are moving as we speak,” Mark McCollum, Halliburton’s chief financial officer, said at an industry summit in February.

Halliburton declined to specify where the crews were moving.

Calgary-based Calfrac moved one crew into the Bakken in late 2011, according to an SEC filing. Privately owned FTS International no longer works in the gas-rich Barnett shale but has set up operations in the Utica, an emerging prospect in Ohio and western Pennsylvania, according to a company representative.

The reallocations come with some efficiency losses. Halliburton had to scale back its 24-hour operations and is still trying to solve logistical problems. “You actually take the crew from one basin and they have to go stay in motels, you have to pay them per diems for a while. And then you have to double up your personnel while you’re training new, locally based crew on the equipment once it is moved,” McCollum said.

At the same time, a shortage of key equipment such as pressure pumps is easing as companies start taking delivery of material ordered months or even years ago.

It takes about 15 such pumps to frack a gas well, and many more for oil wells. The total pressure-pumping capacity in the United States at the end of 2012 will be 19 million horsepower, two-and-a-half times more than in 2009, according to Dan Pickering, analyst with Tudor Holt and Pickering in Houston.

Easing personnel constraints suggest recruiters may be meeting with success in nationwide campaigns to attract workers with specialized knowledge of complex pumps and hazmat trucks — and a willingness to brave harsh conditions.

Even with U.S. unemployment at 8.3 percent, such skilled labor remains in short supply despite salaries from $70,000 to $120,000 a year. In North Dakota, unemployment was just 3.2 percent in January, the lowest rate in the nation.

Fracking crews, much like roughnecks on drilling rigs, clock in 12-hour shifts for two straight weeks before getting a day off. They live in camps far from cities and towns. Jobs are transient — a few weeks at a single location. Most workers divide their time between the California desert, Texas ranchlands and the freezing badlands of the Midwest state.

Companies have scrambled to nab talent, with recruiters scouring far and wide. Military bases have gotten frequent visits, and some companies have hired truckers from Europe.

“There’s definitely a push to look all over for people who have good experience since it takes at least six months to train someone how to use a fracking pump,” said David Vaucher, analyst with IHS Cambridge Energy Research.

The Secretary of State for the UK's Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy department issues his backing for the UK's onshore shale gas industry and set out a series of actions to support the sector.

Brazilian oil company Petrobras is looking to farm-out parts of its ownership in four blocks in located in the Deepwater Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, across an exploration area of 44,370 square kilometers . ...

ADES International, a provider of offshore and onshore oil and gas drilling and production services, has secured a new loan from a Saudi bank to finance the acquisition of three jack-ups from Nabors. ...

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Australian LNG player Woodside is looking to up the pace on the development of the Scarborough gas field off the country's northwestern coast. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Harvey Gulf International Marine, the New Orleans-based LNG-fueled PSV owner and LNG bunkering pioneer, saw its final plan of reorganization approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

MAN Diesel & Turbo has been selected to provide a complete propulsion package and fuel-gas system for the world’s first fishing vessel with LNG propulsion. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

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The Fluxys-operated Zeebrugge liquefied natural gas terminal is scheduled to host five LNG carriers over the next 15 days. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Oslo-based Awilco LNG, the owner of two 156,000-cbm LNG carriers, reported a profit of $1 million in the first quarter of this year as compared to a loss of $31.8 million in the comparable period... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Russian giant Gazprom and its Japanese partner Mitsui discussed the progress of its small- and mid-scale LNG cooperation. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

You are probably aware of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that will come into effect on May 25, 2018. In a nutshell it means your personal data will be better protected, hence... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

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Nord Stream 2, the developer of the twin pipeline to supply Russian natural gas to the EU market, released 90,000 young Atlantic salmon as compensation for potential temporary damage to fisheries... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Gulf of Mexico-focused vessel operator Harvey Gulf International Marine has been granted approval for its ﬁnal Plan of Reorganization by the United States Bankruptcy Court. The approval comes just 77... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

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Aquaterra Energy has made two senior management promotions to spearhead its continued growth strategy. George Morrison becomes group CEO of parent company Aquaterra Energy Group, while James Larnder... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Minesto has completed the installation of the micro grid system (MGS) buoy that will be used for the company’s first tidal energy installation in Holyhead Deep, Wales. Moored to the seabed using... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Tymor Marine has appointed Matthew Heyman as business development manager of the company. Matthew has over twenty years maritime industry experience with companies including Wilhelmsen, Maersk and... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been on an extended Twitter rant against critics of the company. His most recent target is the media, which he says has lost public trust and should be tracked for truthfulness. Musk is doing all this to distract from the alarming reality of Tesla's struggling business. Tesla CEO Elon Musk now appears to think that the media is h […]

The UK's defense secretary has again warned of increasing Russian submarine activity around Britain. NATO officials have sounded alarm about Russia's naval activities several times in recent years. Concerns about Russia's increasingly sophisticated subs comes amid broader tensions between Moscow and other countries in Europe. Russian submarine […]

Apple could reach a $1 trillion market cap in the next year, Morgan Stanley said Thursday. The bank upped its price target to $214 for the stock, citing Apple's hugely successful Services business. Follow Apple's stock price in real-time here. Morgan Stanley has once again raised its price target for Apple. The firm's new price target of $214 […]

Games are more than an enjoyable pastime — some types of play can actually make kids smarter. Unstructured games, art, and even bath time can help kids strategize and explore their creative potential. Here are six games, from an expert, that will make your kids smarter. Becoming smarter is more than just learning your ABCs and shapes. Kids can actually b […]

Vanity Fair reported that Prince Harry had an "emotional" phone call with his ex Chelsy Davy before his wedding to Meghan Markle. Relationship experts agree that finding closure is important and healthy. However, the timing may have been too close to the wedding. While most people watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding were to […]

Reebok recently moved into a brand-new headquarters in Boston, where it is plotting a return to glory. The brand is a subsidary of Adidas, but it hasn't yet seen the strong growth its parent company has. Reebok has a plan to aggressively go after women consumers, a demographic that its competitors have struggled to reach. BOSTON — Reebok's new Bos […]

President Donald Trump said the US is considering trade restrictions on imports cars, trucks, and other vehicles. According to reports, Trump is thinking of slapping a 25% tariff on imported vehicles. Trade experts say the move could lead to an economic disaster for the US and lead to retaliation from key allies. President Donald Trump's unexpected anno […]

Wednesday was the 16th anniversary of Netflix's initial public offering. A $1,000 investment made at the stock's first-day closing price would be worth nearly $300,000 today. Watch Netflix trade in real time here. Wednesday was the 16th anniversary of Netflix's initial public offering, and an investor buying in then would have made a very impr […]

A Portland, OR, couple claimed that their Alexa devices in their home recorded a private conversation between them and sent it to their friend in Seattle 176 miles away. Originally reported by KIRO-TV, the incident occurred about two weeks ago. The woman told KIRO-TV that the device had not audibly advised her that it was recording her conversation and sendi […]

All breakups can be difficult, but working with your ex can make the healing process even more challenging. Many Hollywood relationships develop on set, making the fallout from the breakup a bit awkward. Despite the end of the romance, some celebrity couples have found a way to work together, and have even channeled their feelings into their work. Bre […]

Authored by Kevin Muir via The Macro Tourist blog, It’s now cool to be bearish bonds. A couple of years ago you were labeled a pariah for even suggesting inflation might pick up. The few of us that argued locking in 10-year money at 1.4% wasn’t a good risk reward supposedly didn’t understand the overwhelming three Ds - debt, demographics and deflation. Yeah, […]

Two days ago, when looking at the ongoing turmoil gripping the Italian market, where the imminent formation of a populist, Euroskeptic government with a penchant for spending and threatening to impose a "parallel currency", the "Mini-BoT" has sent Italian yields soaring to the highest level in years, we noted something more troubling not […]

Authored by Amity blog via Safehaven.com, In early November, while Bitcoin enthusiasts and investors were waiting for a long-anticipated update to the software that supports the famous digital currency, a mass email from the group behind the project informed everyone that they were canceling the update. For months, Segwit2x, as the update was called, was at […]

Having been a dollar bull for several months, Bloomberg's Mark Cudmore now thinks it's about time for the long-term dollar downtrend to resume. All the key drivers of strength have run their course and it's more likely that the marginal developments from here will weigh on the dollar... Via Bloomberg, After rising more than 4% in the last five […]

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) fired off a letter to the Department of Justice Wednesday demanding unredacted versions of text messages between FBI agent Peter Strzok and former bureau attorney Lisa Page, including one exchange which took place after Strzok had returned from London as part of the recently launched "Operation C […]

Update: Trump said that while he hopes that talks will lead to a favorable outcome, the US military is remains ready to act if necessary. The comments represent a return to the menacing Trump rhetoric of last year. Trump added that the talks could still take place as originally planned. *TRUMP SAYS CANCELLATION OF KIM SUMMIT BASED ON KIM'S STATEMENTS *T […]

Authored by Tho Bishop via The Mises Institute, Nicolás Maduro may have received more votes in Venezuela’s recent presidential election, but the record-low voter turnout is widely seen as its own form of protest against his increasingly oppressive socialist regime. So as long as Maduro’s government controls the voting process, his opponents will continue to […]

In the second round of sanctions announced this week, the Treasury Department on Thursday said it would impose sanctions on several Iranian and Turkish companies, as well as aircraft connected to those companies, in a move that targets four Iranian airlines. The sanctions were levied against nine individuals and entities for "procuring export-controlled […]

Having collapsed this morning following a profit warning (and mass layoffs) this morning, we suspect the following chart will start to send Deutsche Bank counterparties scrambling for protection... With a market cap of just over $21 billion now, Deutsche Bank - the once most systemically-dangerous bank in the world, and German darling - is now smaller than.. […]

One month ago we reported how, three years after a historic "fat finger" wire transfer in which Deutsche Bank mistakenly sent $6 billion to a (briefly) lucky hedge fund, a routine payment at the biggest German bank "went awry" (or as Bloomberg said at the time, "was flubbed") when the bank "mistakenly" sent 28 billion […]